What is the ruling if only one required animal unit is present, and it is higher in age than the minimum due, or lower in age?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Zakat
Primary text
If the required animal age (Sunn) is due but not present, the owner may provide an animal of a higher age and give two sheep or twenty Dirhams as compensation. Alternatively, the owner may provide an animal of a lower age along with two sheep or twenty Dirhams as compensation. An exception exists for the Bint Makhad, as it is the lowest age due in Zakat; one cannot give an animal lower than it unless the recipient of Zakat agrees to accept it without compensation. The preference regarding upward or downward substitution, and whether compensation should be sheep or Dirhams, rests with the recipient of the Zakat, according to Al-Nakh'i, Al-Shafi'i, and Ibn al-Mundhir.
Supporting text
The jurist Al-Thawri opined that compensation should be two sheep or ten Dirhams, based on the valuation that one sheep is equivalent to five Dirhams, referencing the fact that the Nisab for sheep is forty and for Dirhams is two hundred. The companions of the school of thought (Ahl al-Ra'y) suggest paying the value of what is due, or less than the due age, with Dirhams covering the difference. The basis for the primary ruling is the authentic Hadith reported by Al-Bukhari detailing precise substitution amounts for Hiquq, Jadh'ah, and Bint Labun when the specific due animal is absent, which mandates that compensation is only given when the exact due animal is missing.